Secrets
by xX-Yuna-Zoey-Xx
Summary: Secrets are revealed as Doug cracks and confesses to Ste, Brendan however is not happy and decides something needs to be done. Currently on Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**Secrets**

**Secrets are revealed as Doug cracks and confesses to Ste, Brendan however is not happy and decides something needs to be done.**

* * *

Doug was in the deli, setting up the place for him and for Ste for them to open. Doug and Ste had managed to the deli after all even though Doug purposely through the bid on the shop. He knew that Ste would be disappointed if they didn't get the deli. But Doug knew if they didn't get the deli, Brendan wouldn't have any hold over Ste.

Things lately had begun to change between Ste and Doug, Doug had begun to get very confused on how he feels about his best friend. That hug last week, Doug felt unnaturally happy and warm while he was in Ste's arms. Doug knew he shouldn't have felt that for his friend, but the sleepless nights and the constant thoughts of Ste had made Doug realise something. Doug was falling in love with his best friend.

Ste wasn't stupid, despite what everyone thought of him, almost everyone had put down Ste's new venture and everyone saying Ste was going to fail again. With the exception of a few people Ste didn't have that many friends and even they were finding it hard for him to succeed, except for Amy and Doug, although when they were first told they didn't get the deli, even Amy had that look. But Ste knew something was up with Doug lately, he hasn't been himself, Doug's been doing a lot of disappearing acts, always been in a sort of a downer, overall he hasn't been himself and distanced himself from Ste.

A door opens from behind and Doug assumes that it's Ste finally arriving. Ste said earlier he'd be late.

"Well. Well. Doesn't this just look… Cozy" a voice says making Doug freeze. Doug knows exactly who owns that voice, Brendan Brady.

"What do you want Brendan?" Doug sighs.

"Hmm." Brendan muses walking over and invading Doug's personal space.

"Where is Stephen?" Brendan whispers in his weird way.

"Why do you care where STE is?" Doug spits out knowing full well the history that occurred between Brendan and Ste and putting emphasis on Ste as Doug knows that what he likes to be called.

Brendan doesn't say anything, instead grabs Doug by the chin and backs him up against the wall. Doug wouldn't admit it but Brendan terrified him. Doug didn't know what Brendan was going to do, but he began to brace himself for whatever was coming.

"In future. When I ask you something. You answer. We wouldn't want Stephen finding out how you two… No. How I paid for this place." Brendan whispered huskily in Doug's ear making the younger man quiver in terror.

"What d'you want?" a voice asks.

Brendan turns his head to see the man he was looking for standing at the entrance of the door. Ste didn't look at all happy to see Brendan standing there in his and Doug's shop. Ste didn't see the terrified look on Doug's face. Brendan turns back to Doug and he fixes Doug's shirt and overalls.

"Be in touch." Brendan says patting Doug on the side of the face.

Brendan leaves and Doug remains exactly where he stands backed up against the wall. He couldn't handle losing Ste because of the whole money thing. So many things are running through his head right now and they were beginning to cloud his sense of judgement.

"What did he want?" Ste says pulling his overall off the ground and putting it on.

"…" Doug doesn't reply just takes a deep breath.

"Mate, you all right?" Ste asks seeing the terrified look on Doug's face.

"I-I-I Need to tell you something" Doug said not sure his brain was approving his words.

"Well go ahead and tell me then" Ste says studying his friend, something had obviously distressed him, Ste immediately thought of Doug's encounter with Brendan moments ago.

"Sit down" Doug says as if he was in a daze.

"Jeez Doug, you make it sound like it's really bad" Ste says sitting on one of the painted chairs. The look on Doug's face answer's Ste's question.

"Oh my god, Doug what did you do?" Ste asks.

"It's bad…" Doug mumbles sitting down on the chair opposite Ste.

"How bad?" Ste asks getting a bit worried.

"You know the money I got to pay for this place… It wasn't from my family" Doug says finding his shoes very interesting to look at.

"What? Then if you didn't get the money from them , then-" Ste puts two and two together.

"Brendan…" Doug says barely above a whisper.

"No! No no no no no no no! Doug how could you do summat so stupid?" Ste shouts standing and knocking his chair aside.

"This is great! Just great! Another thing Brendan has over me! How could you Doug? I trusted you! And you go and do summat like this! Why did you do this to me? Why?" Ste screams at Doug.

"I did it for you!" Doug shouts back standing up and pinning Ste right back against the wall with his arms above his head.

"You did it for me? Well you've got a funny way of showing it" Ste retorts.

"I did it for you. I couldn't bear to see you so upset at the prospect of losing this place. I wanted to make you happy, so bad. I wanted you to be able to prove to everyone that you weren't a failure. I wanted your kids to be able to look up to you. I did this all for you. I care for you so fucking much. You're always on my mind, your touch, your scent, just everything about you. Every single second of every single minute of the day, all I can think about is you and how I could make you happy!" Doug didn't realise he had become emotional and the tears were flowing down the side of his face.

"…" Ste stared back at Doug shell shocked. He couldn't believe how much Doug cared about him.

"Ste… I love you. I love you so much it hurts. I love everything about you. That goofy personality of yours, your smile, your sense of humour, everything about you." Doug says continuing to name off everything he loves about Ste.

Doug face inches that much closer to Ste's and slides his hands into Ste's. Their lips are so close to one another's that both boys can feel the other's breath on their own. Ste was in shock, he had no idea that Doug felt that strongly for him. Looking at Doug in such a vulnerable state, Ste couldn't help but see how cute he was. Doug gently pressed his lips onto Ste's.

Ste was shocked, here he was, in his own business, kissing his best friend, and he couldn't have been happier. Ste returns the kiss. The battle of the tongues begins. There was no dominance between the two, both were evenly matched. The need for air broke the two boys apart. The sound of breathing is the only thing heard over the awkward silence.

"Wow…" Ste said breaking the increasingly awkward silence.

"I know" Doug says looking down at his shoes.

"But you're straight?" Ste says, both boys refusing to look at each other.

"…" Doug doesn't answer Ste's question. He's not entirely sure what's going on inside his head, all he does know is that, its Ste and only Ste that Doug can think about. Doug goes to embrace him causing Ste to flinch.

"No. Please don't. I'm sorry… I didn't mean to" Ste says, his voice breaks.

Ste slowly moves his arms in front of his chest, as if he is bracing himself for something. That's when Doug realised about the violent relationship that happened between Ste and Brendan, Ste was brainwashed, he didn't know if he was going to get a kiss or beating. Doug was one of the few people who saw the damage Brendan did to Ste. Looking at Ste being so broken and expecting the worse to happen, Doug wished he had the courage back then to stick up for Ste.

"Ste…" Doug says putting his hands gently on Ste's shoulder.

Ste looks up to face him. Doug can see the terror in Ste's eyes and it breaks his heart even more seeing the fear on Ste's face.

"Ste. I'm not going to hurt you" Doug says waiting and watching Ste.

Ste looks into Doug eyes. He feels he needs to see whether or not Doug is lying. Even with Noah, Ste was very careful with guys. He always thought they'd do something to hurt him, but looking into Doug's eyes was different to what he saw in Brendan and Noah's eyes. In Brendan he saw hate and violence. In Noah's he saw lust. But in Doug's eyes, he saw something different, he saw love, affection and a huge degree of gentleness.

"I'm not going to hurt you…" Doug whispers.

Ste and Doug inch their faces closer to one another. Both boys can feel one another's breath on their lips again.

"I love you too much…" Doug whispers, his breath ghosting against Ste's lips.

"I-I-I love you" Ste whispers back capturing Doug's lips.

For the second time that day, Ste and Doug kissed again, but unlike the last kiss this was a lot more heated and passionate and this one also had an observer. Staring in the window at the two boys passionately making out, was Brendan Brady. He was fuelled with rage and jealousy seeing the sight in front of him. He did not like the sight before him. Brendan decided that something needs to be done.

The kiss between Doug and Ste was getting more passionate. They broke apart temporarily and both shirts were thrown to the ground. Doug never expected to fall for anyone after Becca but being with Ste right now, he honestly saw them being together for the long run. More articles of clothing were shed and the boys sank to the ground, devilish smiles on their faces.

* * *

"Wow…" Ste says looking up at the ceiling with a happy smile gracing his features.

"…" Doug remains silent.

Doug was sat on the ground resting his back against the counter with Ste in between his legs, lying against Doug's chest. The paint stained sheets that were on the floor were now being used to cover the boys lower bodies. Doug was thinking over what just happened, it felt wrong for him to be doing this but at the same time it felt so right to be with Ste. Doug couldn't see himself doing this with any other man except for Ste, that made him smile.

"I know it's stupid to be talking about exes and stuff at a time like this but, Brendan never made me feel like this." Ste said quietly snapping Doug out of his thoughts when he heard Ste's tone of voice and mention of Brendan.

"What do you mean? What did Brendan never make you feel?" Doug says struggling to say Brendan's name.

"Loved." Ste says looking over at what may have been Doug's weird shirt lying on one of the paint cans.

Ste's confession broke Doug's heart even more, hearing that Brendan never ever made Doug feel loved was really sad but at the same time it made Doug extremely happy, that he was the one who made Ste feel like he was being loved.

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore, because I'll be here for you Ste. I'll always be here if you need love, support anything you name it and I'll have it for you" Doug says making up his mind that he wants to be with Ste. Doug rubs his hands slowly up Ste's well defined torso causing the man to gasp out. Everything Doug has done for him, Ste couldn't help but fall more and more head over heels in love with Doug, Ste can't believe that Doug just wants to make him happy, unlike Noah and Brendan who just wanted the sex.

"Thank you Doug. You're really summat else you know that. When I'm with you, I just feel safe, happy, warm and loved. You make me feel all that. When you told me about the money thing with Brendan, I thought you were going to be exactly like him, But you proved me wrong, when I was with him, all that matter to him was that he got the release he wanted. He never cared about me" Ste's voice began to break, so Doug gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"But you, you're so much different to him. You're gentle, loving and oh my god your touch shocks me! It's intoxicating. Doug I think what I'm trying to get at is, I love you" Ste says turning in Doug's arm to face him. Ste could see the love in Doug's eyes and quickly captured his lips again. Doug was ecstatic when he heard that Ste returned his feeling of love and the sneaky kiss caught him by surprise but Doug was ready for it. What Doug wasn't ready for was for Ste to break away so soon.

"Ya know. I think I'm gonna have to get me gaydar checked. Cos I never once suspected you. Maybe you just have a really good straight cloaking device" Ste says joking over the situation.

"Oi" Doug says messing up Ste's hair.

"Argh! Doug my hair!" Ste says bringing his hands up to his hair.

"I think you'll be saying something else in a while" Doug says licking his lips. Ste sends a devilish smile back his way when he gets the meaning behind what Doug just said.

"Hello?" a voice causing the boys to freeze.

"Lynsey!" Doug mouths.

"I thought you locked the door!" Ste mouths back.

"You two here?" another voice asks.

Doug's jaw drops further open when he hears Riley's voice. Right about now both boys were wishing they locked the door. Ste manages to pull on his pants before tossing Doug's over who hastily puts his on.

"Hey is that Doug's shirt in the paint? I swear that boy has some interesting taste in shirts" Riley says.

Doug's jaw drops even further while Ste tries his hardest to stifle his laughs. When Doug see's the look on Ste's face he can feel the laughter building up inside of him.

"There's Ste's one" they hear Lynsey say.

"Riley, you don't think?" Lynsey asks causing the boys a little bit of confusion.

"I hope not, otherwise I'd lose the bet" Riley replies to Lynsey.

"Bet?" Ste mouths over to Doug who shrugs in confusion.

"Oh come on Riley, you know those two are made for each other" Lynsey says.

"Yeah I know they are, but I'm not convinced they'll end up together until after they open the deli" Riley replies.

"Wait you bet on whether or not Ste and I would get to together?" Doug asks suddenly standing up and immediately regrets his decision to as he's met with the amused faces of Riley and Lynsey.

"Uhh hi" Doug says realising the predicament he's just after putting himself in.

"No Doug. We were betting if yous two, would end up together before you opened the deli or after you opened. By the looks of things Riley, you owe me £5" Lynsey says trying hard not to laugh at a red faced Doug.

"How do you if it's even Ste back here?" Doug says catching the shirt Riley threw over to him.

"I- Oh my god there's a rat!" Lynseys shouts causing Ste to jump up into view. Lynsey raises an eyebrow at Doug while Riley starts laughing.

"Busted mate!" Riley says giving the £5 to Lynsey.

"So you're ok with this?" Doug asks.

"Of course I am, I'd be a hypocrite otherwise, I mean our Jason is gay after all" Riley says smiling over at Doug.

"So let me get this straight-" Doug starts but Lynsey cuts him off.

"I'm not sure you are anymore Doug and boys, thank yous just made me a lot richer" Lynsey playfully says making Doug go even more red faced.

"But it's just a fiver?" Ste says.

"Nope. Except for Rhys and Leanne. Amy, Jacqui, Myra, Mercedes, Ally, Mitzeee, Dennis, Texas, Nancy, Darren, Cindy and Tony all agreed with Riley here. Myra was even ready to go down to the bookies." Lynsey says trying not to laugh when she sees the looks on the boy's faces. She notices a change on Ste's though.

"Does… Brendan know" Ste quietly asks.

Lynsey shakes her head and Ste releases the breath he didn't realise he was holding. Doug had secretly slid his hand into Ste's and gave him a reassuring squeeze. The three know if Brendan finds out about Ste and Doug, there will be hell to pay.

"Care to tell me what's going in this silent conversation of yours?" Riley asks breaking the silence.

"It's nothing Riley, come on let's get going. I need to collect my winnings. Guys will you two kiss so I can prove it" Lynsey asks using her sweetest voice possible.

"We're not going to- mmph" Doug says but is cut off by Ste pulling him in for a kiss. The sound of Riley laughing and Lynsey's phone taking the picture is all that's heard. Ste pulls away too soon for Doug's liking.

"Mate, that was hilarious" Riley says laughing loudly.

"How's that kiss for ya?" Ste asks cheekily.

"Awww. Yous two are soo cute together" Lynsey says cooing over the photo.

"Wait! That ended too soon!" Doug says pulling Ste back into kiss to the amusement of Riley and Lynsey.

"We'll see yous two again. Come on Riley lets go get my payment" pulling a staring Riley away from the shop.

* * *

"No. This will not do" Brendan muses downing a shot of alcohol. He massages his temples as he trie to remove the image of Ste and Doug kissing from his head.

Brendan hears the door open below, followed by light footsteps up the stairs. Brendan doesn't even need to look over to know its Ash, who arrived. He's when she arrives by how she walks.

"You're late Ashling" Brendan says pouring himself some more alcohol.

"Oooh. What's made you hit the bottle" the girl says walking over behind the counter.

"I don't think that's any of your business now. Do you?" Brendan hisses at her.

"Well someone's grouchy" Ash comments earning herself a glare from Brendan.

"Sorry." Ash says going off and collecting some glassware.

Ash's phone goes off, increasing Brendan's oncoming headache and worsening his mood. The girl is nowhere in sight so Brendan decides to turn her phone off in hopes of regaining a little peace. But Brendan is met with a sight that send him over the edge. A picture of Ste and Doug kissing. Brendan drops the phone and grabs the bottle in front of him, and throws it, smashing it against the wall. Ash chose the wrong time to come back.

"YOU KNEW?" Brendan shouts. He didn't realise he'd walk over and pinned the terrified girl against the railings.

"Brendan, let me go! You're hurting me!" the terrified girls shouts.

Brendan lets go of the girl, he fixes Ash's top and places her phone into her hands before taking off downstairs. Ash wipes the tears away from her eyes before looking down at her phone and now she sees why Brendan lost it. She sees the picture of Ste and Doug.

* * *

Doug chose the wrong time to be walking up the alleyway in between Chez Chez when Brendan walks out in front of him. Doug didn't even have the chance to say anything because Brendan pushes him right up against the wall and spitefully punches Doug very hard in the abdomen.

"You and Stephen. You're finished" Brendan whispers gleefully watching Doug drop to the ground gripping his side in extreme pain.

"That's not going to happen" Doug gasps out spitting up some blood as well.

"Believe me Douglas, this thing between you and Stephen, it's finished now that Stephen is going to find out how you funded your little restaurant" Brendan says crouching down to face Doug who spits up some more blood.

"Nice talking to ya Dougie" Brendan says and to add insult to injury he ruffles Doug's hair and heads off towards the deli.

* * *

Lynsey observed the end of the encounter between Doug and Brendan down below and she couldn't believe what she saw Brendan do. Cheryl however did not see it as she was locking up the front door. Lynsey sped off to Cheryl's surprise.

"Doug, are you ok?" Lynsey asks crouching down beside Doug who's in agony.

"Doug love, are you ok?" Cheryl asks worriedly.

"Go. Help Ste! The deli…" Doug gasps out spitting out some more blood before passing out in Lynsey's arms.

"Chez go! Doug need's an ambulance now! I'll stay here with him" Lynsey says pulling out her phone, neglecting the fact it was Brendan that Cheryl was about to save Ste from.

* * *

"Well Doug you back for more already?" Ste asks out hearing the door open.

"Not Doug" Brendan says making Ste freeze.

Ste slowly turns around to see Brendan staring hungrily at him. The same lust, hate and violence in Brendan's eyes make Ste back right up against the wall in fear.

"What d'you want?" Ste says quickly.

"You see Stephen. I'm a good friend of yours and we both love each other. But there's something you should know about your new boyfriend Douglas. Bet he didn't tell you how he got the money eh?" Brendan says walking so closely up to Ste, that Ste can feel Brendan's breath on his face. Brendan smirks when he hears Ste gulp in fear. Brendan realised how much he missed Ste under him.

"Your boyfriend got the money from me" Brendan whispers backing away slightly to see the betrayal in Ste's eyes, but Ste instead pushes Brendan away from him.

"I know that! Cos unlike you! Doug actually cares for me! He got the money to make me happy, where as you. You just gave him the money so you could have a hold over me. There's a big difference between you and Doug. Doug actually loves me and I love him" Ste spits out at Brendan.

This sends Brendan over the edge, he punches Ste in the jaw before shoving him back against the wall. He grabs Ste face before glaring into his eyes.

"Are ye sure you love him?" Brendan says moving the terrified Ste's head from left to right.

"Yeah I thought so" Brendan says placing a rough kiss on Ste's battered lips.

"Brendan Brady! You back away from Ste now!" a voice shouts.

* * *

Cheryl couldn't believe what she saw Brendan do. She never once thought Brendan would be capable of something like this. Her brother, the man she used to think that the sun shone out of his ass. The angel of her eyes. The devil in disguise.

"Brendan Brady! You back away from Ste now!" Cheryl shouts.

Brendan turns around to see his shocked sister staring at him. Ste takes the opportunity to run, he pushes past the two Brady's and runs out to of the deli. Cheryl just stares at Brendan, feeling the rage from all the lies he told her building up inside.

"Chez" Brendan tries to explain but Cheryl quickly cuts him off.

"No! Brendan I don't want to hear it!" Cheryl shouts.

"But" Brendan says.

"No buts Brendan! You are to pack your bags! You're going back to Ireland now! I don't want to hear it! Leave now!" Cheryl screams becoming emotional. Brendan doesn't even say goodbye, he just pushes past Cheryl and that was the last she saw of him

* * *

"Well Doug, I just spoke to one of my superiors and they think you could be out tomorrow morning" Lynsey says putting down Doug's chart.

"That's good" Doug says lying back down into his bed.

"You do realise you are going to have to take it easy for the next couple of weeks, those ribs won't heal properly otherwise. I know Ste won't be too happy by that, will ya?" Lynsey says teasing the boys.

Since Doug ended up in the hospital with the broken ribs, all thanks to Brendan, Ste hasn't left his side, except for the odd bathroom break. Lynsey couldn't help but say how cute the two boys were when they were together.

"Ste. I know something that could make feel more better" Doug says smiling.

"More morphine?" Ste asks not getting what Doug said.

"How about you give me a kiss?" Doug says doing an impression of Ste.

Ste accepts Doug's request and places a gentle kiss on Doug's stomach before moving up to Doug's lips.

* * *

**So this is the Stug story I'm working on. Read and Review guys. Any flames given will be used to burn the haterz at the stake :P**

**Z xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Secrets – Chapter 2 A Secret Return**

**Justin & Hannah return to Hollyoaks for a quick visit, Ste attempts to keep his relationship with Doug hidden from Justin while Nancy and Rhys catch up with Hannah. Brendan returns to Hollyoaks leaving Cheryl and more far from happy.**

**Ok i must say that this chapter is entirely beta, so changes will happen and it will be taken down when i've fixed the next plot.**

* * *

"These things are irritating my eyes!" a boy with black hair complains rubbing his eyes.

"Quit complaining Justin, you need to keep them in, your still wanted here since you invaded the law when you ran off with Russ" a blonde girl says fixing her make-up in a compact mirror.

"Thanks for the reminder Hannah, you do know thanks to that hair dye you got I'll never be blonde again" Justin complains running a hand through his hair.

"Doesn't bother me cos you look a lot hotter with black hair" Hannah says winking at Justin.

"Oh do I now?" Justin says giving Hannah a quick peck on the lips.

"Justin, we're here!" Hannah suddenly says pointing out the taxi window.

Justin and Hannah finally arrive in Hollyoaks village after their long journey, there visit would be quick due to the fact Justin is still wanted here since he invaded the law. Justin pays the taxi fare while Hannah takes a moment to take in all the changes since she was last in the village.

"This place has changed so much" Hannah says looking around.

"Wow you're right. The Loft got renamed, Ill Gnosh, Mobs and Drive N' Buy are gone too" Justin says pointing out some changes.

"Ill Gnosh and Drive N Buy were burnt to the ground. Steph Dean died because of it. I still can't believe Dom did it…" Hannah says looking at where the two businesses used to be.

"Carter & Hay? You don't think?" Justin asks.

"No! Couldn't be. Could it?" Hannah replies.

"No!" the two say to each other laughing.

"So what you going to do?" Justin asks studying the shop.

"I'm going to go visit Sarah, then I might go see Rhys. What about you?" Hannah says remembering her dead friend.

"Think I'll go catch up with Ste and Amy, then I'll go see Sophie and Mel, might see you there. I hope I can see Charlie too" Justin replies pulling Hannah into a hug.

When Justin pulls Hannah into a hug, he sees someone emerge from Carter & Hay. He looks at the guy thinking he knows him as he got a feeling of familiarity from him. He thinks it could be Ste, but there is no way that Ste ever dressed that well when Justin was around. Hannah pulls away from Justin, says her goodbye and goes off towards the village graveyard. Justin continues to watch the boy outside the shop. He sees another walk down the steps from the old flat where he used to live in when he lived with the Valentines. The guy who came down the steps was definitely injured, he was limping over to the other. Justin sees them hug a bit more amorously and feels awkward seeing the two boys being affectionate to each other. Justin doesn't have anything wrong with gay people, back when he was younger maybe he did, but that was all down to Sonny. Justin then heads off in search of old friends.

* * *

"Miss you Sarah" Hannah says looking down at her friend's grave. It wasn't long ago that Sarah was murdered in a parachuting accident. To this day Hannah still can't believe she's gone.

"I miss her too" a voice says startling Hannah.

"Nancy? Is that you?" Hannah asks looking at the girl walking towards her.

"Wow, Hannah. You've changed so much!" Nancy says taking in Hannah's appearance.

"You don't look so bad yourself! Now come here!" Hannah says pulling Nancy into a hug.

"Woah. Easy there Han" Nancy says pushing Hannah back slightly.

Hannah shoots Nancy a confused look. Nancy puts her hand over her stomach and smiles. Hannah instantly get what Nancy is referring to.

"Shut up!" Hannah says happily.

Nancy just smiles back at Hannah.

"No way! Oh my god Nance! Congratulations! Who's the dad? Wait is that a wedding ring?" Hannah bombards Nancy with questions, who just smiles and waits for Hannah to calm down.

"It's a long story and it's too cold to tell it here, come on lets go to the Dog" Nancy says linking arms with Hannah.

They walk through the graveyard but Hannah stops when she sees a familiar name. Warren Fox. She unlinks arms with Nancy and walks over to the grave and spits on it.

"Bastard!" she hisses.

"That was a waste of your time Hannah. I'm surprised that they haven't got rid of it yet" Nancy comments looking down on the empty grave.

"What d'you mean?" Hannah asks.

"Don't you know? Warren is still alive. He survived that fire few years back." Nancy says calmly.

A look of fear graces Hannah's face, Nancy sees this and quickly reassures her that Warren has been locked up for the crimes he's committed. Before they leave Nancy stops at another grave.

"Another one taken before her time" Nancy comments.

"India…" Hannah says when she sees the grave. Hannah remembers all the drama that went on between her brothers and the girl.

"What happened?" Hannah asks staring at the grave.

"Silas happened" Nancy coldly says.

"Who?"

"I'll tell you when we get back" Nancy says and the two girls walk off.

* * *

"We guna need more of this ya know!" a loud voice was heard throughout the shop, a voice that Justin instantly recognised as Ste's.

Justin turns around to see where Ste is but is met with the same boy from earlier and a girl with long dark curly hair. Justin is a bit shocked but looks around to be sure that that guy isn't Ste, but his suspicions are confirmed when the man turns around. Justin takes in Ste's new look, he's gone from dressing like a chav to dress in what Hannah calls style, he'd changed his hair too, it wasn't a fair brown and short, it was now darker, black even, the sides shaved and a lot of hair gel on top.

Ste notices a guy with black hair eyeing him up from across the shop, normally he wouldn't have minded the attention but he's in a relationship with Doug now and they were both love and in it for the long run, as in they'll both be old and grey, sitting on some porch looking out watching their grandkids play. But seriously that guy just staring at Ste now was beginning to annoy him.

"Staring problem or somethin'?" Ste says looking over at the black haired man. The man just smiles and holds up his hand in defence, his nods and leaves the shop.

"Weirdo" Ste says watching him leave.

"What was all that about?" Texas asks watching the guy leave.

"D'you not see him eyeing me up? Like I'm a piece of meat or summat" Ste says dramatically.

"From the way he was looking at you I'm sure he wants your brand of sausage and garlic sauce" Texas says winking at Ste.

"Oi! That's dirty" Ste laughs getting Texas's sexual joke.

Justin couldn't believe how much Ste had changed when he left, he always has his suspicions Ste was gay but when Ste got Amy pregnant with Lucas, those suspicions were laid to rest. Still though, it does kinda bother him that Ste never told him, sure they were best friends for years. But as Justin sees it, as long as Ste is happy, then Justin can be too because when he left Hollyoaks he always was worried about leaving Ste on his own especially after the whole Daniel and Abi fiasco. Justin comes up with a plan, he'll surprise Ste later.

* * *

"You got married to Darren?" Hannah exclaims seeing Darren and Nancy kiss.

"Nice to see you too Hannah" Darren says wrapping his arm around Nancy's waist.

"When did happen? But wait how did you two get married? I thought we still were legally?" Hannah asks.

"Oh I checked into that, turns out, our marriage isn't legal in the UK, I'm guessing Nancy didn't tell you how we got married then, eh?" Darren says cuddling Nancy who just smiles.

"No, I just found out now and I have to say this place has changed" Hannah says walking around the new interior of the Dog's living area.

"Oh by the way, congratulations on becoming a Dad a again" Hannah says.

Darren and Nancy winced at Hannah's comment and this did not go unnoticed by Hannah.

"Did I say something wrong?" Hannah asks.

"We lost our first one…" Nancy quietly says.

"Oh guys. I'm so sorry" Hannah says pulling the two into a hug.

"So, how long are you here for?" Darren asks when Hannah pulls away.

"Not for long, actually Nancy… Would you mind if Justin saw Charlie?" Hannah hesitantly says.

"Justin is here?" Nancy says quickly and Hannah nods in reply.

"Where is he?" Darren asks just as quickly as Nancy.

"He went off to Ste" Hannah says calmly.

"Oh he's going to be in for a surprise" Nancy says pulling out of Darren's embrace to make some tea.

"What do you mean?" Hannah asks confused.

"Jeez Han, you're really out of the loop around here" Darren says handing a cup of tea to Hannah.

"Ok I'm even more confused now" Hannah says taking a mouthful of tea.

"Oh I'll just 'come out' and say it otherwise she'll never get it" Nancy says putting emphasis on 'come out'.

"Come out?" Hannah asks confused.

Darren and Nancy smile as Hannah gets the true meaning behind Nancy's "Come out" comment.

"No way!" Hannah exclaims.

"Way Hannah, way" Darren smiles seeing the girl's hilarious reaction.

"Ste's gay! Ok I did not see that coming. I mean Amy and he has kids!" Hannah shouts trying to make sense of what she was just told. But as quickly as she shouted her demeanour changed.

"Oh my god… Justin is gone to see Ste!" Hannah jumping up off her seat nearly knocking her tea over.

"That's what I'm worried about" Nancy says taking a mouthful of her tea.

"Ehh why's that?" Darren asks confused.

"You never went to school with us. Justin and Sonny attacked JP when he came out, well Sonny maintains that Justin did it, but he could never keep his story straight." Hannah says pacing around the room.

"Well maybe Justin has done the same Darren did" Nancy says walking over to her husband.

"Oh and what have I done now?" Darren asks ruffling Nancy's hair making her giggle.

"Ok you two are so cute, still can't believe you two got together though, but you're both a case of opposites attract" Hannah says cooing over Darren and Nancy.

"Well Darren here, he grew up" Nancy says softly looking Darren's eyes.

"Thanks…" Darren says at a loss of words and kisses Nancy lightly.

"Wow. Never thought I'd see a speechless Darren" Hannah comments ruining the mood.

* * *

Ste, Doug and Texas were sitting in College Coffee when Ste sees the black haired guy from earlier walk in. He tenses slightly and this doesn't go unnoticed by Doug sitting beside him, mainly because it caused Doug a bit of pain.

"What's up with you?" Doug asks.

"Yeah, isn't someone jumpy" Texas says putting her coffee down on the table.

"It's that black haired guy from earlier Tex, I swear he's stakin' me" Ste says hinting the direction of the man they were talking about.

"You mean mister black hair, who was looking at you like sex on a plate and wanted to have more than just seconds?" Texas says smiling devilishly at Ste.

"Oh so someone was checking you out" Doug says moving forward slightly with a smile on his face.

"Ahh go away you two, everywhere I been today, he's been there! And no Doug, he couldn't catch my attention, not when you have mine" Ste playfully says to Doug.

"Wait did I miss something here?" Texas asks confused.

Ste throws a look down to his hands. Texas looks down eventually to see Doug's hand wrapped around Ste's. Her Jaw drops open wide and a huge smile graces her face.

"Oh my god! When did this happen?" Texas says in hushed tones.

"One week" Ste starts.

"Five days" Doug continues.

"Twenty-one hours" Ste says gazing into Doug's deep blue eyes.

"Fourteen minutes" Doug says smiling.

"Twenty-three seconds and still counting" Doug and Ste both say.

"Wow." Is all that Texas can say.

"Ok we were joking about the second's part but the rest is legit" Ste says pulling Doug into a 'Bro Hug' but immediately regrets it when Doug gasps.

"Crap! Sorry" Ste quickly says easing Doug back against the sofa.

"You can make it up to me tonight" Doug says winking at Ste.

"Oh so will I be practicing a firm handshake?" Ste says suggestively.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Ste, I'm still not able for that, but your hands will be busy though" Doug teases.

"Ok guys not to ruin your moment or anything but this is TMI" Texas states getting a mouthful of coffee.

* * *

A message from Hannah asking Justin to meet her at the Dog in the Pond, stops him for watching Ste, Texas and Doug any further. He can't help but feel happy seeing Ste happy and having moved on from everything. It takes about five minutes for Justin to reach the Dog, where he's met with Hannah talking to a girl he quickly recognises as Nancy.

"Are you Hannah's friend Will Anderson?" Nancy jokingly asks raising her eyebrow.

"Yes I am…" Justin says confused.

"You see Will, there's someone here that I think you should meet. Can you follow me please?" Nancy says walking into the pub with Hannah and Justin in tow.

"Wow this place has changed" Justin whispers to Hannah as they get up into the Dog's living area.

"I never thought I'd say this but it's good to see you again Justin" Nancy suddenly says turning around and giving Justin a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Nance. Didn't know you lived here. What did you do? Get married to Darren?" Justin playfully asks.

Nancy in reply to Justin's comment about Darren, using her hand with her wedding ring, rubbed a certain area of her stomach with a big smile on his head.

"Wow… Another Nancy or Darren running around. Is that even legal?" Justin cheekily says.

"Justin. You are very lucky I can't hit you" Nancy says smirking.

"Oh don't worry about that Nance, let me do it for you" Hannah says hitting Justin hard in the shoulder.

A small boy walked into the room with Darren not far behind, he walked up and hugged Nancy before asking, what did she need him for or was he in trouble. Justin watched in awe seeing how big his son had gotten since he left Hollyoaks. He was speechless seeing him again after all this time.

"Charlie. You remember Justin don't you?" Nancy sweetly asks. Justin can tell from the way Nancy is with Charlie, she will be an amazing mother.

"Daddy?" the boy asks hesitantly looking Justin's direction. Nancy, Darren and Hannah smile as Justin hugs his son.

"Now Charlie, you can't tell anyone I'm her now ok? Can you keep that a secret?" Justin asks the little boy.

"Yup!" he energetically says.

"Pinky swear?" Justin asks.

Charlie links his pinky with Justin's and a huge smile graces his little face making Justin smile even more.

* * *

_**I have to be honest, the first chapter i posted was originally the story and it was completed, it was only by mistake i didn't put it down as completed. I didn't expect to get such a positive response on this story so because of it, i will continue it :) But first i need sort out the rest of the plot before i continue, this chapter is mainly beta so you guys know i haven't forgotten about it. I hope you guys like this beta so R&R. **_

**_Z xx_**


	3. Authors Note

**Secrets Author Notes:**

* * *

**Ok guys just to let you know, this story Secrets is currently on hiatus, this story was originally a one shot, so I need a lot more time to think of the plot. I have however been writing a new Hollyoaks story "Lose My Mind" so be sure to check that out if you want a fix of Ste, Doug and Brendan.**

**I'm not sure when I'll be taking this story off hiatus, but as soon as I can think of more plot, you can expect an update. I have to say I'll be away on holiday's soon so all my stories will be on hold for two weeks. Anyway, sorry if you guys were heavily invested in this story. I hope you can forgive me. **

**I'm currently writing some other not yet posted stories so keep an eye for them.**

**Also is there anyway we can get Doug C. listed as a character for our FanFiction stories involving our Doug.**

**So that's all from me for now.**

* * *

**Z xx**


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